''This is the beer to end all beers. It's an audacious blend of eccentricity, artistry and rebellion; changing the general perception of beer, one stuffed animal at a time.

''The impact of The End Of History is a perfect conceptual marriage between taxidermy, art and craft brewing. The bottles are at once beautiful and disturbing - they disrupt conventions and break taboos, just like the beer they hold within them.''

The blond Belgian ale, infused with nettles and juniper berries, was created by BrewDog's brewers by freezing the liquid to separate water from the solution.

The process was then repeated dozens of times, requiring hundreds of litres of beer to be reduced through the process to produce just enough for a 330ml bottle.

BrewDog drew criticism from industry watchdog the Portman Group last year when it unveiled a 32% beer, Tactical Nuclear Penguin.

It has also faced claims that its 18.2 per cent Tokyo beer promoted excess.

In February, the firm launched Sink The Bismarck!, a 41 per cent volume ale.

The End Of History can be bought through the BrewDog website.

But animal campaigners and others hit out at BrewDog's latest offering.

Ross Minett, campaigns director for the charity Advocates for Animals, said: "Using shock tactics to get attention is terribly out of date, especially when this involves exploiting or degrading animals.

"The modern approach is to celebrate the wonders of animals and respect them as individual sentient creatures. I'm sure this would have much greater appeal with the animal-loving public.

"We will be getting in touch with BrewDog to advise them on what people today really think about animals and how a positive caring approach and appreciating live animals is the best way forward."

Barbara O'Donnell, director of services at Alcohol Focus Scotland, said: "This is another example of this company pushing the boundaries of acceptability, all in the pursuit of cheap marketing tactics."

However, Mr Watt argued that criticism of the beer's high strength was "totally misguided".

He said: "This artisan beer should be consumed in small servings whilst exuding an endearing pseudo vigilance and reverence for Mr Stoat.

"The real catalysts for a binge-drinking culture are not well- crafted beers but the monolithic corporate machines that have cultivated a culture of quantity rather than quality amongst UK beer drinkers."

He also responded to criticisms of the packaging of the product and stated: "I can think of no grander way to celebrate these animals than for them to be cherished by the lucky owners.

"The animals used to bottle The End Of History all died of natural causes - better to be celebrated and valued than left to rot."

"The real catalysts for a binge-drinking culture are not well- crafted beers but the monolithic corporate machines that have cultivated a culture of quantity rather than quality amongst UK beer drinkers."

Great marketing stunt and a big middle finger to the high volume chemical (not beer) brewers!